'No es fácil' Relations Between the European Union and Cuba since 2008

Abstract

This thesis investigated to what extent the European Union (EU) maintained a unified foreign policy towards Cuba independent from US influences, from 2008 until 2016. This main question contained two important aspects: EU unity and independence from the US. Therefore, two equally important sub-questions were formulated. Firstly, Was EU foreign policy making towards Cuba free from US influence? The second sub question was to what extent did unity exist between member states internally and externally on EU foreign policy. This research tried to focus on primary sources, made possible because of a large number US diplomatic communications were leaked by the website Wikileaks. Relations between the EU and Cuba are quite complicated. Inside the EU member states often disagreed on what the foreign policy towards Cuba should be. Within the EU Spain acted on historical and social ties to its former colony. In contrast, the United States (US) constantly pressured the EU to isolate the island. The special interests of Spain and the US in Cuba made the relations between the EU and Cuba an intricate puzzle. The new developments surrounding Cuba, the lack of research on EU-Cuba relations and since these new developments, scholars’ disagreement on EU independence in foreign policy making towards Cuba, and the lack of studies using primary sources, justified this thesis’ research. The research questions were investigated during two key periods divided into two chapters. These key periods defined EU-Cuban relations since 2008. The first period covered the running up to the Spanish EU presidency from 2008 until the presidency itself in 2010. The second period mostly covered the EU-Cuba negotiations on a bilateral treaty between 2014-2016 and the US-Cuban thaw. This study found that internal EU unity on Cuba increased throughout the years. Externally, economic opportunities saw member states break rank and disregard EU foreign policy. US influence on EU foreign policy towards Cuba decreased in later years as the EU went ahead independently in successfully seeking normal relations with island, partly in order to secure economic opportunities. In 2016 EU-Cuban relations were on track to become stable and coherent with a unified attitude by member states.